3D NAND, the latest flash cell storage technology. There are both TLC and MLC variations of 3D NAND. 3D-NAND varies by layer density. Currently, Samsung 3D NAND (they refer to it as V-NAND) rules the roost in terms of layer density and performance. The only other competitor in the 3D NAND marketplace is IMFT’s 3D NAND, which is not quite on par with Samsung’s technology. However, compared to MLC and TLC planar (or flat) NAND, 3D NAND is leagues better in terms of endurance.

What Is NAND?

Unfortunately, there’s a current NAND crisis. Because of increased demand, the price of SSDs is poised to leap. As Tom’s Hardware reports, in Q4 of 2016 MLC SSDs skyrocketed in price. SSDs bumped up as much as 9 percent. Ironically, SSD prices are their own worst enemy. As prices plummeted, the price to storage ratio inched closer to that of their HDD counterparts. Shortening the price gap upped the incentive to opt for an SSD.

Mobile device popularity further contributed to the NAND shortage. Flash storage like microSD and SD cards use NAND. Most mobile devices like phones and tablets include built-in flash storage. Several popular devices including the iPhone lack expandable storage. Therefore users often select a device with lots of built-in storage. This can go up to 128 GB or higher.

Yet even without the NAND crisis, SSD price per GB remains higher than HDD counterparts. If you truly require a hefty amount of storage, you may be better off with a platter drive. However, there are hybrid drives available which combine the benefits of SSDs with HDDs (we refer to these as SSHDs). Moreover, most desktop cases and even some laptops support multiple drive bays. If you benefit from multiple drive bays, you can use an SSD for mission critical information such as an operating system, and HDD for mass storage.

Why are PCIe SSDs so expensive? It’s all about performance. The PCIe connection type links more directly to the motherboard. Add-on cards like GPUs use a PCIe interface because of its low latency. Thus, PCIe boasts a significantly higher theoretical transfer speed of almost 16 GB/s. That’s up to 25 times faster than SATA 3.0. However, real-world PCIe performance clocks in just around 4 GB/s. Enterprise-grade PCIe SSDs may provide better transfer speeds albeit at an inflated price.

PCIe is undeniably faster than SATA. You probably won’t notice a performance difference though unless you’re transferring massive files. Opt for a SATA SSD if you have a choice. This yields a better price to storage ratio and almost equal noticeable performance to PCIe SSDs.

Samsung 850 Evo features a performance-enhancing RAPID mode. Enabling RAPID mode however requires Windows. Linux and Mac users are therefore unable to take advantage of its boost. Nevertheless, the Samsung 850 Evo yields performance close to its 850 Pro sibling at a reasonable price. The 850 Pro offers 3D vertical NAND flash with up to 2 times the speed of normal flash. Samsung’s premium 850 also costs almost twice as much per GB as the Evo.

Since you probably won’t notice a difference unless you’re a hardcore gamer or constantly transferring massive files, the Samsung 850 Evo is your best bet.

CNET reviewers found the slightly pricier 850 Evo boasts better performance. The MX300 compensates for its reduced performance with its low price and 3D flash memory. If you value encryption, write endurance, and security, the MX300 is a great budget SSD solution.

PCIe undeniably provides better performance than SATA SSDs. With that performance bump comes a price increase as well. The MyDigitalSSD BPX lends the performance of an NVMe SSD but with the price of a SATA drive. For just slightly more per GB than SATA SSDs, you can snag a MyDigitalSSD BPX drive. Storage options start at 120 GB and go up to 480 GB.

The PCIe BPX comes in an M.2 form factor and is even double-sided for extra compatibility. According to Tom’s Guide benchmarks, the BPX may not be the fastest NVMe SSD, but it’s certainly not the slowest. MyDigitalSSD’s BPX is uncompromising in its value, performance, and storage. The Samsung 960 Pro series PCIe NVMe line does yield better performance, but at a much higher cost.

Are SSDs Worth Upgrading to Now?

It’s a great idea to upgrade to an SSD before the NAND crisis fully hits. Depending on form factor, you can score a high-performance SSD without breaking the bank. Even budget SSDs offer much better reliability and speed than HDDs. Unless you absolutely need a high-end SSD, I suggest sticking to budget-oriented SSDs like the 850 Evo, MX300, and BPX. But if you can afford a 960 Pro or other upper-tier SSD and often transfer huge files, by all means grab one. But ensure that you’re maintaining high performance and a long lifespan for your SSD with these tips3 Top Tips To Maintain Performance & Extend The Life Of Your SSD3 Top Tips To Maintain Performance & Extend The Life Of Your SSDFor years, standard hard drives have been the speed limiting factor in overall system responsiveness. While hard drive size, RAM capacity, and CPU speed have grown almost exponentially, the spinning speed of a hard drive,...Read More.

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Kent Berry

June 14, 2017 at 4:28 pm

"We’ve seen year-over-year drops in SSD prices." Say WHAT?!?! Where do you shop? I've been watching Fry's Electronics for several years, but also sometimes Newegg, and sometimes Amazon (which isn't necessarily easy to search best price for products that have wide range of capacity), and prices have more or less stayed about the same for a few years. I finally decided to search the web to try to find out why the SSD market has all but ignored Moore's Law.

The best drive is a SSD drive. Mechanical rotational disks are obsolete. Once you try SSD, you never go back. Check out the gold standard: Samsung Portable SSD T3. It is so amazing that it remains cold while booting Mac and working from it all day long. Really incredible!

I went with the Crucial and by around 8 months it was fried, it was really really fast and I love it, I was using it strictly with Zorin 9 Core in an old Dell e1505, after coming back from Suspend it would hang up, I would kill the laptop with the power button and have it reboot, for some reason after several dozen or so of these it locked up and died. I don't know why or what, but I am done with SSD's. I have old hard drives that are 8 to 10 years old still working, I have dual booted these dozens of times with dozens of Linux/Ubuntu distro's and they keep working. Now I would rather take a little more time with boot ups, but know it will last. My experience was not not a good one with SSD's.

Well the article was simply pointing out due to rise in popularity of ssd, there will be a shortage of the memory that it uses. The old supply and demand formula comes into play. I believe there may be a lag, no pun intended, of production of memory. Thus inflicting a temporary spike in prices. But I don't see current inventory of ssd's selling out prior to the memory production coming up to speed. Therefore there should not be a DOOMSDAY of price increase. I would estimate a 10 percent bump until things come up to speed. Ssd's are inherentley pricey, so if you are in the market for a ssd you can afford the premium I'm sure.

Moe Long is a writer and editor covering everything from tech to entertainment. He earned an English B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Robertson Scholar. In addition to MUO, he has been featured in htpcBeginner, Bubbleblabber, The Penny Hoarder, Tom's IT Pro, and Cup of Moe.